CAIRO, August 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher Monday, August 11, said that the U.S.-handpicked Iraqi Governing Council does not represent "the legitimate authority" in Iraq, calling for forging a common Arab policy on the war-ravaged country.

"Everyone knows, including those who set up this council and supported it, that the new council should only serve as a stepping stone for a sovereign Iraq, but for now it does not represent the legitimate authority in postwar Iraq or Iraqi sovereignty," Maher told reporters following a meeting a meeting with his counterparts from Syria, Farouk al-Shara, and Saudi Arabia Prince Saud al-Faisal.

Washington expressed disappointment at the lack of support given to the council at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers held last week in Cairo, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"There was an agreement that (sending) Arab forces cannot be considered in the current circumstances," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told reporters after the meeting.

Maher also insisted that Arab states could not give the U.S.-appointed body their unqualified support.

"Whether we recognize this council or not depends on lots of things, including the powers it will have, the nature of its relations with the occupying forces and the role of the United Nations," said Maher.

Maher called for an "active U.N. role" to help the Iraqi people "assume total responsibility and exercise its sovereignty."

The Egyptian minister, however, said his country stands ready to receive the members of the council "as individuals" and not as representatives for the people of Iraq.

Prince Saud and al-Shara did not make any press statements.

For his part, Abdullah al-Ashoul, an Egyptian professor of international relations, told the Lebanese LBC satellite channel Monday that the Arab non-recognition of the new council is a pure legal battle.

"The body is by no means legitimate, given that it has been appointed by an occupying power; therefore, the establishment of such a council is simply null and void," he said.

Maher's statements came as Washington plans to put forward this week a draft U.N. resolution, in a bid to get the United Nations involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, AFP said.

The French foreign ministry said that the move should "stress the creation of the Iraqi Governing Council."

"Regarding the provisional Iraqi Governing Council, the draft should, as far as we are concerned, note its creation -- a first step in a process of establishing representative institutions that must be part of a clear and precise timetable," the ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said.

U.N. diplomats, however, have said it would grant little new authority to the United Nations, which already has a mandate to contribute to humanitarian relief and the reconstruction of Iraq under resolution 1483, which was passed May 22.

France holds one of the five permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council which have the power of veto over any resolution.

France and Russia, another permanent member, threatened to use that power in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq, infuriating Washington and prompting U.S. forces to go in alone with its British and Australian allies.

U.S. relations with France and the United Nations have been frosty ever since, but the deaths of U.S. soldiers in daily attacks have forced Washington to increasingly look to international help in rebuilding Iraq.